Greetings!
It was with great sadness that the producers of "Mayor at the Movies" (2009-2011) learned of the passing of the show's eponymous star, Mayor Ed Koch. Although most famous for shepherding New York City during one of its most turbulent periods (1978-1989), Ed Koch was also a bon vivant who had a particular passion for the movies.
When I first approached the mayor with the idea of turning his weekly movie-review e-mail blast into a web-based TV show in 2009, the mayor was immediately intrigued. His natural comfort in front of the camera and his plainspoken talk made the show a quick favorite among his fans and among movie-lovers alike.
Along with cameramen-producers Tim Kress-Spatz and A.J. Abucay, I positively delighted in the Mayor's foibles and bluntness, but also his unbridled passion for cinema. He weighed in on Angelina Jolie's lips and Alec Baldwin's spare tire. He loved film violence and didn't shy from cinema that was steamy. He sought out great documentaries, and had a particular passion for anything of Jewish interest. He strongly believed there was no need for stars when rating films...simply a "plus" for films he liked and a "minus" for the ones he didn't. Although there were weeks when pluses were hard to come by, the show was often at its most entertaining when the review was a negative one. "Take it from me," the mayor would say: "Don't waste your money." For my fellow producers and me, creating the show and leaving all New Yorkers with an enduring online video legacy of the man famed for asking "How'm I doin'?" was most definitely a plus. God speed, Mister Mayor.
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